#The Intrafaith Conversation

[smstrouse]

Three Rules of Interfaith Encounter

[greenandhazy]

I’m in the fifth season of Downton Abbey and I’m just going to say it: I’m annoyed at how many fictional versions there are of “grumpy, unreasonable Jews are mad that their child is marrying a non-Jew who won’t consider conversion.”

like I’m not going to pretend that some Jews are antagonistic towards interfaith couples (both individually and systemically), or that that’s not a major, ongoing problem. but I don’t appreciate the way the fictional versions gloss over legitimate reasons for people to want intrafaith marriages for either themselves or their children, and I don’t like the way the it’s written and performed for a non-Jewish audience.

I also don’t like the fact that the only example I can think of where the gentile partner actually does convert to Judaism is Astrid from The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, whose every moment onscreen is devoted to the fact that her being a convert is hilarious.

[riverdamien]

The Intra FAith

The INTRAfaith Conversation: "How Do Christians Talk Among Ourselves About INTERfaith Matters? By Susan Strouse Strouse presents a discussion of conversation between various faith traditions, centered in the Bay Area. Growing up in the South the only conversation, and conflicts we had were between various denominations--I was saved several times in the Baptist faith because I was interested in a Baptist girl. In my years of ministry in the Midwest it was the same, largely disagreements over doctrinal issues between the liberal United Methodists and the Baptists and other conservative traditions.Pluralism was seen as a "sin" and you were a heretic. There was only one faith--belief in Christ. And for the most part it remains the same various swaths of our country. We are so divided around religious views, which leads us to political division. Strouse describes various techniques in working with various groups of people, and pastoral approaches. The one point that needs to be heard is that she talks about is that God has many faces. For example the Christian theological point of view is communicated through Jewish eyes, and interpretations of Scripture is through the eyes of writers who are seeking to communicate to one part of the world, as are all other religious points of view. Where we have missed out is that every major religion communicates on central teaching: Loving God and loving neighbor. God comes to various groups of people in different ways and forms. Strouse is the author a great book, and she has difficulty in the Bay Area, which should tell us how difficult it is elsewhere. All we need is to stand back and see the God of many faces and in doing so to see all of us as one family. Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.Min., D.S.T. P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www. temenos.org 415-305-2124

[smstrouse]

Pluralism 101

[smstrouse]

INTRAfaith at the Parliament of the World's Religions

INTRAfaith at the Parliament of the World’s Religions

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted here. When last we met in January 2020, I was organizing a screening of Same God, the story of the Wheaton College professor who was removed from her tenured position because of her “embodied solidarity” with Muslims. But then . . . well, 2020 happened. And it felt like a whole lot of other issues took center stage. I pretty much decided to give up on…

[smstrouse]

You Might Be a Christian Atheist If . . .

You Might Be a Christian Atheist If . . .

  New Voices . . .

is a chapter in my book, The INTRAfaith Conversation, in which I describe some of the groups now included in the interfaith scene.

These groups include . . .

Atheists and Humanists

Since the book was published in 2015, there have been a lot of new developments. I was aware of the wide range of definitions for atheists and humanists when I wrote the book. Since then, I’ve been…

[smstrouse]

Spiritual Fluidity

I was very interested when I learned that the book club of my area’s interfaith organization was reading When One Religion Isn’t Enough: the Lives of Spiritually Fluid People by Duane R. Bidwell. I hadn’t heard of this book, even though it was published in 2018. But I was intrigued because in my book, The INTRAfaith Conversation, I have a chapter entitled “New Voices.” And one of those voices is…

[smstrouse]

Teaching Civil Conversation - then Buffalo Happens

Teaching Civil Conversation – then Buffalo Happens

This past weekend, I led a retreat and preached at the Church of the Nativity in Buffalo, NY. After phone and Zoom conversations beforehand with the planning committee about what they wanted to get out of our time together, we decided the title for the weekend would be “Carrying Christ into a Divided World.” It all started with Pastor Ruth Snyder, who’s been my best friend since the days I served…

[smstrouse]

Abiding in the Divine Milieu

Abiding in the Divine Milieu

A sermon for Pentecost 13, August 19, 2018

I used to have a love/hate relationship with the gospel of John. On the one hand, I’ve always loved his soaring, cosmic opening: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Even if I didn’t know exactly what that meant, I knew John was telling us that Jesus was something special.

Where I ran into difficulty with…

[smstrouse]

"I am the way and the truth and the life" at Churchwide Assembly

“I am the way and the truth and the life” at Churchwide Assembly

This past week, my denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), held its triennial  Churchwide Assembly. One of the main events was voting on the proposed policy statement: A Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment. I’m proud to say that it passed 890-23. 

That might have been due to the fabulous array of ecumenical and inter-religious guests!

Watch the whole process here.

[smstrouse]

What to Do with "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"?

What to Do with “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”?

In virtually every workshop I’ve ever led about interfaith matters, someone asks the question: “What about when Jesus said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me?”

Here is an audio version of the interview I did with Steve Kindle of Pastor to Pew a few years ago. We talk about my book, The INTRAfaith Conversation. But mostly it’s my take on John 14:…

[smstrouse]

Hearts

            My Favorites Jumbo Shrimp      Old News Liquid Gas            Working Vacation Original Copies   Awfully Good

Most people probably know what an oxymoron is – even if they’re not familiar with the word. An oxymoron (from the Greek for ‘pointedly foolish’) is a word or phrase that contradicts itself (see above lists). 

Good Samaritan Is an Oxymoron If you were a Judean in the time of…

[smstrouse]

There Is No Theology of Religiously Motivated Violence

There Is No Theology of Religiously Motivated Violence

Two Disciples and the Roots of Religiously Motivated Violence Oh, those evil Samaritans! Can you imagine not welcoming Jesus to your town! But it figures; those Samaritans are just beyond the pale. They think that their religion is the true religion of Israel, that they kept their worship pure during the exile – unlike we who had to make accommodations in Babylonia. And how ridiculous that they…

[smstrouse]

Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God: the Pope Said So!

Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God: the Pope Said So!

1219 CE: St. Francis and the Sultan This year marks an important date in interfaith history. Eight-hundred years ago, as Christians and Muslims were in the midst of fighting the fifth crusade/jihad, St. Francis of Assisi had a remarkable visit with Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil of Egypt. You can read more about that historic event here. 

What I really want to talk about is another, much more recent,…

[smstrouse]

The INTRAfaith Conversation in Judaism

The INTRAfaith Conversation in Judaism

The intrafaith conversation is not a necessity for Christians alone. Divisiveness occurs in most, if not all, all religions. I once asked a Jewish friend to name the biggest issue that divides Jews, and she immediately replied, “Israel.” 

So I was intrigued by the title of this article on the GetReligion website: “American and Israeli Religious Infighting: Could It Destroy the World’s Lone Jewish…

[smstrouse]

Bill Lesher's INTRAfaith Journey

Bill Lesher’s INTRAfaith Journey

There’s a very nice article by Joseph Prabhu in this month’s edition of The Interfaith Observer entitled A Tribute to Bill Lesher.

William E. Lesher was truly a giant – and not just in Lutheran circles. Parish pastor, seminary professor and president, civil rights activist, champion of the environment: Bill put several lifetimes into his 85 years! But it was his commitment to the interfaith…